Wisconsin 101

Janesville GM 1937 Strike

Economic tension during the Great Depression in the early 1930s caused a massive shift in labor relations as many workers wanted protection, jobs, and better wages. Many Americans were desperate for jobs that would meet their needs, and this led to grassroot…

Comments Off

February 17, 2025

Janesville / Industry / Related Stories / Rock County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / 1945-1965 / 1965-1987 / 1987-2011 / Transportation & Tourism / Chevy Caprice / Region 7 - South Center

Janesville General Motors Assembly Plant

The Janesville Assembly Plant’s near ninety-year run helped define both the city and its workers and the General Motors Company as one of the most successful automakers in the world. The history of the plant is deeply rooted in Janesville’s agricultural past.…

Comments Off

February 17, 2025

Janesville / New Object Histories / Industry / Object Histories / Wisconsin Made / Rock County / 1965-1987 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center / Chevy Caprice

OBJECT HISTORY: Chevrolet Caprice

General Motors was the largest car manufacturing corporation in the world in the 1960s, and the assembly of the 100 millionth General Motors vehicle, a marina blue 1967 Chevrolet Caprice with a soft black top and complementary blue interior, was a significant…

Comments Off

February 17, 2025

Agriculture / Beloit / Food & Cooking / Industry / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / Rock County / 1918-1945 / 1945-1965 / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Clair Mathews' Feed Grinder

From Cow Feed to Korn Kurl

By the mid-1930s, the Flakall Corporation was trying to build up a customer base for its machine, a version of the feed grinder initially designed and built by Clair Mathews. But, as it turned out, the machine would end up being more useful for snack food manufacturers than farmers.

1 Comment

September 23, 2019

Agriculture / Beloit / Object Histories / Wisconsin Made / Manufacturing & Trade / Rock County / 1918-1945 / Region 7 - South Center / Clair Mathews' Feed Grinder

OBJECT HISTORY: Clair Mathews’s Feed Grinder

Recognizing the need to grind feed for his dairy cows, but unable to afford a mill, Clair Mathews designed his own version of a feed grinder. That grinder would inadvertently create the snack that would come to be known as Korn Kurls.

Comments Off

September 23, 2019